cheval glass...Cynthia Cullen's weblog

Wasbi Gospel Book Bomb - TODAY!

I love the way Shawn Wood communicates. He is one of those rare people who I believe is an excellent verbal communicator as well as an author. Reading his books are like hearing him speak and I like that. TODAY is the Book Bomb at Amazon.com....CLICK HERE to buy the book and I am telling you, YOU NEED to get this book!  It is difficult growing up in church, being around church, and working at a church my entire adult life to not become callous and "Yeah, I've heard that before..." The 1st couple of chapters of this book absolutely gave me the smack in my face that I needed right now in my life.  I like books that cut through the facade and say it. This is one of my favorite quotes from Sean in the book..." I like butter statements. I like the teachings of Jesus being churned down into an easy-to-swallow action step that I can add to the top of my already fat life as a spiritual topping. I guess sometimes I don't like getting slapped with the truth of what Jesus is really saying..." Wasabi Gospel  (pg.6) This is true for me. I don't want to deal with forgiveness, anger, bitterness...just give me a quick 3 points and an illustration so I can feel better...I hate to admit, but Sean is right. This is what we do as Christians - at least I do. I've been chewing on this "forgiveness" thing a lot. Last week's message at church was on this subject and then I have been reading this book.  This is what I need right now and Sean's book has just complemented what God has already been doing in my life. Need some water in your face? Get this book.

It started on a bike ride - Pt. 3

Today is my final post about my retreat day. I felt led to continue reading in Philippians 4...I had never read THE MESSAGE version of verse 13..."Whatever I have, where ever I am, I can make it through anything in the ONE who makes me who I am." I just kept reading that over and over again...memorizing it. I very quickly realized that this chapter was the passage of scripture that God wanted me to mediate on for the rest of my time. Here are the nuggets I gleaned...

• Don't waver in Your dependence on me, Cynthia...Steady as she goes!
• Get over offenses with others...grow up!
• Celebrate me...delight in the fact that you are my child.
• Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers (exact quote from THE MESSAGE)
• My peace will take the center of your life..not your stress.
• I will bring harmony to your life - all the pieces flowing together to make beautiful music.

I ended my time with Psalm 23 and this brought it all into focus. Verse 1 says, "God, my Shepherd...I don't need a thing." I began to write down all the things that I have...food, clothing, shelter, health, children, love, family, job...I was so overwhelmed with God's goodness to me. I finished my bike ride, returned home, and then drove to my favorite beach, Islanders Beach, and walked about 4 miles and just enjoyed the sun. I spent that time thanking God for the morning, for some specific things he had taught me, and watching all the vacationers enjoy their time at the beach.

In conclusion, if you have never taken a few hours like I did to get away with God...DO IT! I caught my breath (Ps 23:3) & I cannot tell you how much I needed the refreshment. If you do it, let me know how it goes!

It started on a bike ride - Pt. 2

I took my journal and my iphone with me on my bike ride and stopped at Spring Lake to sit for awhile. My friend, Jan, really encouraged me to just listen for God...to be silent...to be patient. I watched the activity on the lake...fish jumping out of the water and birds dive bombing the lake to get them. I didn't know who to cheer for - the bird to get one or the fish to get away!  As I sat there, I just drank in the beauty of that lake and the peacefulness of it all. I really don't know how long I sat just watching the lake, but then my thoughts began to turn to how much I missed having time like this to sit....and then God starting speaking to me again. He said, "Cynthia, I have so much I want to say to you, but you are very distracted with noise. I am not taking about your kids, your job, or your responsibilities...I'm talking about your thought life." He brought me to Philippians 4:8. I love YouVersion. It is the greatest app for me because of the ability to view so many different translations of the Bible. I was drawn to THE MESSAGE version of this verse...

"I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse."

This is a familiar verse to me. I've always used this verse as a standard for information intake...I would call it "The Philippians 4:8 test." Honestly, I haven't "taken the test" in awhile with regard to my life as a whole. God began to reveal to me how much of the negatives of life I had been focussing on...the economy, my recent friends' marriages unraveling, our personal finances, raising the kids...pretty much all the big stuff. Then came the BIG hammer..."Cynthia, the noise I am REALLY talking about...is your TV. You are filling what empty space you have with TV and there is no room for me to speak to you." Now, here's the deal. I don't watch a lot of TV. News in the morning...DVR old movies and Seinfeld...but I have an awful time falling asleep. I have Panic Anxiety Disorder so bedtime is the hardest part of the day for me. Mine is genetic and a generally mild case, but still something I deal with everyday. So I have the TV on at night when I am trying to fall asleep...not really watching, just on...noise. This is a bad habit I started when I was nursing Sydney 5 years ago. I would be awake with her, and then try to go back to sleep and the panic anxiety would hit me. So how do I stop? I'm canceling everything but basic cable (local channels.) No more DVR.   Now before you start thinking I'm freaking out, Todd and I had been discussing this for about a week. We are such internet people that we weren't using our cable very much. We have been trying to continue to cut our monthly expenses (Thanks, Dave!) and this is a HUGE expense. So, this was confirmation for me. Our cable gets cut off today, so it starts today. I'll let you you know how it goes.

But that was just the beginning of God revealing truth to me from Philippians 4...

It started on a bike ride - Pt. 1

No Sunday Recap today as I was not in church yesterday. I took a spiritual retreat morning over the same hours that I normally am serving each week at LCC. I was overwhelmed at how much God had to say to me in such a short time, and I'd like to share pieces of  it over the next week here at cheval glass...one post could not contain it! I focused on 3 statements (Thanks, Beth!) all morning.

1. God, I just want to be with You.
2. God, I need Your guidance.
3. Lord, I want to feel Your love.

I grew up out in the sticks of South Louisiana...hot, humid, no breeze...summers were awful. The one thing that brought relief was riding a bike. I grew up in the day when it was safe for little girls to ride for miles, and that it was I did. We lived out in the country and I would ride for hours. It was during this time that I started just talking to God. I would share my thoughts, my worries, and my dreams. This is how I learned to pray...on long bike rides. Skip forward 22 years or so (!) to where I live now on Hilton Head Island. So much of this place reminds me of home (except this is a lot prettier, and then there's the beach!) We have miles of back paths all over the Island and the Plantation (or subdivision) that we live in has beautiful bike paths. Our new house is just outside of the bike path so I can easily jump on it and ride for miles. I started my day on my bike and I rode and talked to God.  Here is what God said to me. "Cynthia, I've missed our bike rides. Did you ever think that maybe the reason I have brought you to this Island is because I wanted you to get back on your bike and talk to me like you did when you were a kid? I look forward to those times together again. They are my favorite. " I felt the 1st statement immediately. And that was just the beginning...

I'm flying the coop

Well, just for one Sunday...I am taking a personal retreat tomorrow morning and I AM PUMPED. Thanks to 3 great chic worship leader friends (Jan Owen, Kim Bontrager, and Beth Brawley) I have some direction on what tomorrow morning should be for me. My team at LCC-Hilton Head Campus is going to ROCK the house (we have a new guitar player and my friend, Dean is playing sax tomorrow!) I love being able to leave and know that the services are going to be BETTER than if I was actually there! Rob Jacobs, our High School Pastor, is leading worship and my fabulous intern, Emily, is the musical director. No twitters or live blogging for me tomorrow...just me and my God somewhere on this Island. I can't wait, Father. See you in the AM!

I'm just sick

Not physically...although, I have a rotten feeling in the pit of my stomach. In the last 3 weeks, I have seen 4 Christian marriages fall a part. Yeah, it happened before that, but I just found out about it. We have become callous as a society, even in the church, to hearing the stories..."So-and-so did this and now this...and the kids are ..." It stinks BIG TIME. I walked this journey as a young adult within my own family...I'm one of the blessed ones that got to witness God's grace and restoration in our family. Not everyone gets that ending to their story. People ask, "What happened?" No offense, but honestly folks, do you not know? Does your own marriage not give you the perspective that if it were not for God's grace, we would ALL be in the same boat? I guess other people have their act together better than I do. Todd and I are flawed people. We have produced 2 flawed children. We are all sinful people and one stupid mistake away from totally wrecking our lives and our children's lives. My heart is breaking for my friends.  I called Todd today and just confessed to him that I take him for granted and I apologized. I thanked him for being a great husband and a great Father. I told him that I respected him and that I was so thankful for God's grace is our lives. So if you are married, stop and tell your spouse how much you appreciate them. Yes, they are flawed and not perfect...neither are you.

Family

It was a rare 24 hours...everyone in my immediate family in the same house for 2 hours. Here are the pics to prove it! Yes, I'm the short one in the middle between my 2 YOUNGER sisters...How about Grandma Sandra getting Sean to take a photo with his cousins? He was NOT into it at all! I feel so blessed when I see these pics. I have already printed and framed the one of all of us.  A BIG thanks goes out to my hubby for setting up the picture and actually getting all of us to look at the camera at the same time! I am so thankful for my family.

Sunday Recap

We are into our 3rd week of being LIVE with our message. I'm really enjoying it. We have cut about 10 minutes out of our service (which we needed to do) & the service feels very warm and relaxed. My tech team has NOT missed a beat making this transition. They are unbelievable! Sunday was our 1 year anniversary in our new facility. We cannot believe it has been a year! Praise God! Emily, our Worship Arts Intern, is doing an awesome job choosing songs and planning worship. I am taking a MUCH needed personal retreat day this coming Sunday & I am handing the service to her as the musical director. This Message Series "Speak God" has been tremendous. Anytime we talk about how to pray, there is SO much we can do in our services with worship and other elements to enhance the teaching time. This week, our key word was "Kingdom" and what it means when we pray "Your Kingdom come..." Here was our service flow...

"The Lord Reigns" - Klausmusic.com
"Sing to the King"
1st Anniversary in New Facility Video
Welcome/ Announcements
"Here is our King"
Message
"Take My Life"
"Our God Reigns"

Our Senior Pastor Jeff Cranston celebrated his 10th Anniversary at LCC this week. Congrats, Boss! Enjoy your Kindle!

Meet me @ Fred's for more setlists!

Tags: LowCountry Community Church, Worship Services

Settled

Todd has used this word a lot in the last few months. I'm not a huge fan of this word and I am not sure really what it means. I have used this word before and everything opposite of this word started to unfold in my life.  This is the last word I would use to describe my life pretty much since 2003. Don't get me wrong...These last 6 years have ROCKED! So much adventure, change, out-on-the-ledge living...no regrets AT ALL. But I'm starting to realize that I have entered a different season of life now. Sydney starts Kindergarten in August...our church campus is 2 years old...Sean is no longer a baby...and we bought a house in a horrible economy (we got a GREAT deal!) So, there it is...I put it out there. No guarantees that it will apply to our lives for very long, and honestly, I'm cool if it doesn't :)

Sunday Recap

Our new intern, Emily Wolff, started this Sunday with us. She sang, played keys, played djembe - it was a blast! We spent the whole service on communion and worship. Todd (my hubby!) gave a great "Homily" (lol - LCC staff get this!) It was so refreshing to spend the entire service in song and taking communion. We are officially LIVE every week now, which is something I am still trying to get my arms around. I am very excited about being a 100 percent Live worship experience every week. It will take some adjustment for our team and people, but overall, the response has been very positive. I love team teaching and having all our pastors teach in person is what I am THE MOST excited about experiencing each week. The creative juices are really flowing now, baby! Here was our service order...

"Marvelous Light" - Hall
Welcome/Announcements
Grad Recognition - Rob Rechy - our cellist :)
"Awesome is the Lord Most High"
"Happy Day"
Message Bumper - Communion (We created this with scriptures and scenes of communion in ProPresenter - we played live music for the audio)
Communion - Time of Confession
The Bread
"Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone"
The Wine
"Beautiful the Blood"
Message: Our Response to the Eucharist
"Hear Our Praises" - Hillsongs

The service was about 65 minutes. It was great and our people really responded in worship. What a great way to celebrate my birthday! (seriously!)

Go to Fred's for more setlists...